Written Answers Friday 28 October 2005

Scottish Executive

Agriculture

Bruce Crawford (Mid Scotland and Fife) (SNP): To ask the Scottish Executive what the total amount of compensation paid to farmers has been as result of the Chernobyl incident, broken down by category of compensation.

Ross Finnie: Since the Chernobyl Sheep Compensation Scheme was established in 1986, over £2.8 million has been paid in compensation to Scottish farmers. A breakdown of this expenditure by category of compensation is not available.

Biofuels

Mr Andrew Welsh (Angus) (SNP): To ask the Scottish Executive how it plans to encourage inward investment in biofuels in Scotland.

Nicol Stephen: Scottish Development International (SDI), the Executive’s joint operation with Scottish Enterprise, leads on attracting inward investment and other international business to Scotland. SDI works with industry specialists in Scotland and uses its overseas sales force to uncover project opportunities and make proposals to target companies around the world. SDI is currently assessing the potential for biofuels investment. This will involve developing a better understanding of exactly what expertise and resources Scotland has to offer and what types of project would provide the maximum benefits to Scotland.

Child Welfare

Linda Fabiani (Central Scotland) (SNP): To ask the Scottish Executive, further to the answer to question S2W-15688 by Peter Peacock on 26 April 2005, what the group’s membership is; what the ratio is of survivors to professionals on the group, and what the defined remit of the group is.

Peter Peacock: The National Reference Group on Adult Survivors of Childhood Sexual Abuse, which has been created to help implement the strategy for Adult Survivors of Childhood Sexual Abuse, is made up of survivors, representatives from survivor agencies, a range of health and social care professionals working in this field, and officials from across the Scottish Executive. There are 27 members on the group, four of whom participate as survivors. The group first met on 6 September 2005 and is in the early stages of developing a working plan spanning 18 months to two years. The remit was drafted at this first meeting and will be finalised at the next one.

Child Welfare

Linda Fabiani (Central Scotland) (SNP): To ask the Scottish Executive, further to the answer to question S2W-15682 by Peter Peacock on 26 April 2005, how the helpline is advertised.

Peter Peacock: The helpline advertisement carried on the Scottish Executive website and a press release was issued to national and local media. In addition, we funded a mailshot to members of the In Care Abuse Survivors (INCAS) support group drawing attention to this resource.

Child Welfare

Linda Fabiani (Central Scotland) (SNP): To ask the Scottish Executive, further to the answer to question S2W-15682 by Peter Peacock on 26 April 2005, what cognisance it has taken of the Scottish Information Commissioner’s Report on the Examination of the Scottish Executive Education Department’s Procedures for the Identification and Provision of Access to Records related to Children’s Homes and Residential Schools .

Peter Peacock: The report made recommendations about training for staff on the issue of refusal notices under the Freedom of Information (Scotland) Act 2002 and about improving the procedures for searching and providing access to records.

  Mandatory training in the requirements of the Freedom of Information Act has now taken place for all Scottish Executive staff.

  We have also improved the search function on the Scottish Executive internet site to ensure that those seeking advice on how to access relevant files held by the Executive can find the relevant webpage more easily.

Child Welfare

Linda Fabiani (Central Scotland) (SNP): To ask the Scottish Executive, further to the answer to question S2W-15681 by Peter Peacock on 26 April 2005, whether all relevant files, appropriately redacted, are now available for public inspection and, if not, which organisations have not allowed access to such files.

Peter Peacock: As indicated in my response to question S2W-15681, all relevant files held by the Scottish Executive are now available for public inspection.

  Officials have met with representatives of other organisations to discuss the records they hold. We are not aware of any organisation that does not allow individuals to access their own personal records, although these personal records are not available for public inspection.

Child Welfare

Linda Fabiani (Central Scotland) (SNP): To ask the Scottish Executive, further to the answer to question S2W-15681 by Peter Peacock on 26 April 2005, which relevant organisations have confirmed that they have files; which have confirmed that they do not have files, and whether any organisation has refused access to their files.

Peter Peacock: My officials have met with representatives of Barnardos, Quarriers, local authorities, the Church of Scotland, the Catholic Church and the Sisters of Nazareth. All agreed to provide details of a single point of contact for each organisation that could be published on the Scottish Executive website to assist those seeking to access their personal files.

Dentistry

Richard Lochhead (North East Scotland) (SNP): To ask the Scottish Executive whether any feasibility studies have been commissioned in respect of opening a third dental school.

Richard Lochhead (North East Scotland) (SNP): To ask the Scottish Executive whether any locations have been identified for a third dental school.

Lewis Macdonald: Dental teaching strategies are based on the advice of academic dental professionals in Scotland. We will expand the capacity of dental training facilities in Scotland by establishing an outreach training centre in Aberdeen, and we will consult further on the need for its development to a full dental school.

Education

Stewart Stevenson (Banff and Buchan) (SNP): To ask the Scottish Executive what percentage of school leavers in each (a) Edinburgh, (b) Dundee and (c) Aberdeen parliamentary constituency area left school with no (i) standard and (ii) higher grade qualifications compared with the national average in each of the last five years.

Peter Peacock: The tables provided show the percentage of school leavers in (a) Edinburgh, (b) Dundee and (c) Aberdeen parliamentary constituency areas that left school with no (i) standard grades or equivalent and (ii) higher grade qualifications for each of the last five years, compared with the national average. It should be noted in relation to table (a) that some school leavers may achieve individual unit awards in National Qualifications courses but these unit awards have not been included in the table unless they form part of a full course award. The information is post-appeal. Post-appeal figures for 2004-05 are not yet available.

  (a) Percentage of School Leavers with no Standard Grade or Equivalent Qualifications*

  

 Constituency
 1999-2000
 2000-01
 2001-02
 2002-03
 2003-04


 Edinburgh Central
 5
 6
 6
 5
 3


 Edinburgh East and Musselburgh
 8
 6
 5
 7
 6


 Edinburgh North and Leith
 5
 10
 5
 3
 6


 Edinburgh Pentlands
 5
 5
 6
 5
 4


 Edinburgh South
 7
 6
 7
 6
 4


 Edinburgh West
 4
 3
 3
 4
 4


 Dundee East 
 11
 13
 8
 9
 10


 Dundee West
 7
 10
 8
 11
 8


 Aberdeen Central
 8
 7
 4
 5
 4


 Aberdeen North
 3
 3
 4
 3
 2


 Aberdeen South 
 2
 4
 3
 2
 1


 National Average
 5
 5
 5
 5
 4



  Note: *School leavers from publicly funded secondary schools. Equivalent qualifications include Access 3, Intermediate 1 and Intermediate 2.

  (b) Percentage of School Leavers with no Higher Grade Qualifications*

  

 Constituency
 1999-2000
 2000-01
 2001-02
 2002-03
 2003-04


 Edinburgh Central
 50
 52
 57
 53
 42


 Edinburgh East and Musselburgh
 62
 63
 62
 65
 63


 Edinburgh North and Leith
 67
 66
 59
 60
 56


 Edinburgh Pentlands
 57
 60
 54
 55
 55


 Edinburgh South
 57
 53
 57
 57
 51


 Edinburgh West
 51
 50
 48
 50
 50


 Dundee East 
 72
 73
 68
 66
 68


 Dundee West
 59
 64
 61
 61
 61


 Aberdeen Central
 54
 56
 58
 58
 51


 Aberdeen North
 57
 55
 62
 55
 55


 Aberdeen South 
 56
 52
 55
 48
 51


 National Average
 55
 57
 56
 56
 54



  Note: *School leavers from publicly funded secondary schools.

Education

Dr Elaine Murray (Dumfries) (Lab): To ask the Scottish Executive whether it provides any guidance to local authorities regarding the supervision of primary school children in school playgrounds during break periods in the school day and, if so, whether it will provide details of such guidance.

Peter Peacock: The Schools (Safety and Supervision of Pupils) (Scotland) Regulations 1990 place a duty upon every education authority to take reasonable care for the safety of pupils when under their charge, and without prejudice to such supervision as is required to comply with that duty in any circumstance also require authorities to ensure adult supervision in a playground at break times, at all of their special schools and all primary schools with a roll of 50 or more pupils.

  The Executive has not issued additional guidance. It is for authorities to decide how to ensure that this duty is fulfilled.

European Union

Trish Godman (West Renfrewshire) (Lab): To ask the Scottish Executive what recent discussions have taken place with UK Government ministers and EU officials regarding allegations of hidden subsidies being given to a Polish shipyard.

Nicol Stephen: There have been significant discussions between the Executive, the UK Government and the EU on these issues. In September 2005, the Commission wrote to Ferguson’s indicating that they have found no evidence of illegal state aid and that there is not sufficient grounds for further investigation.

  Further information which may also be of interest to you regarding this can be found at: http://www.scotland.gov.uk/Topics/Government/FOI/19260/20126.

  This is a response to a recent Freedom of Information request made to the Scottish Executive by the Greenock Telegraph.

Family Law

Pauline McNeill (Glasgow Kelvin) (Lab): To ask the Scottish Executive how many people responded to (a) its and (b) the Scottish Law Commission’s consultation paper on family law.

Hugh Henry: There were a total of 304 responses to the Scottish Executive’s 2004 consultation Family Matters: Improving Family Law in Scotland . This report and the analysis of the consultation responses can be accessed through the link below http://www.scotland.gov.uk/Consultations/Closed .

  The Scottish Law Commission’s 1992 Report on Family Law was prepared following consultation on three discussion papers published in 1990. These were:

  Family Law: Pre-consolidation Reforms

  The Effects of Cohabitation in Private Law

  Parental Responsibilities and Rights, Guardianship and the Administration of Children’s Property.

  There were a total of 148 responses to these discussion papers.

  In addition, the Scottish Law Commission’s 1989 Report on Reform of the Ground for Divorce was prepared following their 1988 discussion paper The Ground for Divorce: should the law be changed? The discussion paper elicited a total of 91 responses. The Law Commission’s reports and discussion papers can be accessed at http://www.scotlawcom.gov.uk/html/introduction.html.

Foster Care

Marlyn Glen (North East Scotland) (Lab): To ask the Scottish Executive what the latest available information is on the average weekly cost of the provision of foster care for a child.

Robert Brown: The information requested is not held centrally.

Gaelic Language (Scotland) Act 2005

John Farquhar Munro (Ross, Skye and Inverness West) (LD): To ask the Scottish Executive when it will bring the provisions of the Gaelic Language (Scotland) Act 2005 into force.

Peter Peacock: The Gaelic Language (Scotland) Act 2005 will be commenced as soon as possible after the designation of the Cathraiche and ordinary members of the statutory body to be created by the act, Bòrd na Gàidhlig. These members will take up appointment when the act comes into force.

  The necessary public appointments process is presently under way. The Executive hopes its completion should allow for commencement of the 2005 Aact in February 2006.

General Practitioners

Mr Stewart Maxwell (West of Scotland) (SNP): To ask the Scottish Executive what the rate of pay is per shift for doctors working in the GP out-of-hours service, broken down by NHS board.

Mr Andy Kerr: The table represents the GP out-of-hours (OoH) payment rate per hour by NHS board, as at July 2005. The rates have been negotiated by NHS boards to cover out-of-hours service following opt out by GPs under new GMS contract from 1 April 2004.

  GP Out-of-Hours Rates Per Hour (August 2005)

  

 NHS Board
 Before Midnight
 After Midnight
 Saturday (Low)^^
 Saturday (High)^^
 Sunday (Low)^^
 Sunday (High)^^
 Public Holidays (Low)^^
 Public Holidays (High)^^


 Argyll and Clyde
 50
 60
 60
 60
 60
 60
 50
 100


 Ayrshire and Arran
 50
 65
 65
 70
 65
 70
 75
 100


 Borders
 50
 56
 60
 65
 60
 80
 100
 150


 Dumfries and Galloway *
 59
 59
 59
 59
 59
 59
 75
 118


 Fife
 49
 59
 57
 57
 57
 57
 76
 76


 Forth Valley
 45
 50
 60
 60
 60
 60
 54
 100


 Grampian
 50
 80
 60
 80
 60
 80
 60
 200


 Greater Glasgow
 45
 67
 45
 70
 45
 70
 55
 75


 Highland**
 50
 63
 75
 75
 75
 75
 -
 -


 Lanarkshire
 50
 80
 60
 80
 60
 80
 -
 -


 Lothian
 50
 70
 60
 75
 60
 80
 65
 85


 Orkney +
 -
 -
 -
 -
 -
 -
 -
 -


 Tayside
 50
 80
 60
 80
 60
 80
 60
 80


 Western Isles #
 60
 80
 -
 -
 -
 -
 -
 -



  Notes:

  *Independent GP Costs.

  **All rates are daytime rates; Highland also pays out £40 per contact in addition to the basic rate for night service, weekday and weekend cover.

  #Lewis only; remaining islands, salaried GPs.

  ^^Low rate before17.00 High rate after 17.00.

  Footnote: + With the exception of one practice, all practices continue to provide their OoHs cover. Salaried GPs provide OoH cover for this practice at a salaried rate of £90,000 per annum.

  The following table shows arrangements for Shetland. Due to the geographical location NHS Shetland pay for out-of-hours cover by the session and therefore do not have a dedicated hourly rate.

  

 NHS Board
 Before Midnight
 After Midnight
 Saturday (Low)^^
 Saturday (High)^^
 Sunday (Low)^^
 Sunday (High)^^
 Public Holidays (Low)^^
 Public Holidays (High)^^


 Shetland^
 300
 300
 575
 600
 575
 600
 750
 800



  Notes:

  ^Full Session rates : Monday to Friday 5.30pm to 8.30am. Weekend 24Hrs.

  ^^Low rate before17.00, High rate after 17.00.

Higher Education

Richard Lochhead (North East Scotland) (SNP): To ask the Scottish Executive what the ratio of applicants to places was for each (a) medicine, (b) nursing, (c) speech and language therapy, (d) chemistry, (e) biology, (f) physics, (g) primary teaching and (h) secondary teaching course at each university in each of the last six years.

Nicol Stephen: This information is not held by the Scottish Executive. The Universities and Colleges Admissions Service (UCAS) deals with applications for study at universities.

Housing

Tricia Marwick (Mid Scotland and Fife) (SNP): To ask the Scottish Executive what mechanisms are in place to ensure the release of land for new homes under the Homestake scheme.

Malcolm Chisholm: A range of measures to help release land for affordable housing, including that for the Homestake scheme, is set out in the Executive’s housing policy statement Homes for Scotland’s People published in March this year. A copy is available in the Scottish Parliament Information Centre (Bib. number 35778).

  Scottish Planning Policy 3 (SPP 3) requires planning authorities to take a long-term view of where needs for housing can best be met and provide in full the housing land requirement for each housing market area. In addition, Planning Advice Note 74 on Affordable Housing established a benchmark figure of 25% of all new housing developments to be affordable homes where justified by a housing needs assessment.

  Measures are also in place to release publicly owned land for affordable housing. Scottish Executive land that is deemed surplus to requirements is notified internally to Executive Departments. Communities Scotland is notified through this process, and given the opportunity to register an interest in the land on behalf of Registered Social Landlords (RSLs) who may wish to purchase the land for affordable housing. In addition, an agreement is in place with Forestry Commission Scotland who, in handling sales of surplus land, now provide a preferential opportunity for RSLs to acquire the land for affordable housing. We have also announced a willingness to release land for affordable housing from the Scottish ministers’ estate, almost all of which is crofting land.

Housing

Tricia Marwick (Mid Scotland and Fife) (SNP): To ask the Scottish Executive what the average price paid for a home by a first-time buyer was in each year since 1997, broken down by local authority area.

Malcolm Chisholm: Information on purchases by first-time buyers is available from the Survey of Mortgage Lenders. The information requested is given for Scotland as a whole but not for each local authority area within Scotland (due to the nature of the sample used). The data can be found in the live tables published on the Office of the Deputy Prime Minister (ODPM) website at www.odpm.gov.uk (Home > Housing > Housing statistics > Housing statistics by topic > Housing market and house prices, Table 503).

  The Survey of Mortgage Lenders is a monthly survey carried out by the ODPM in partnership with the Council of Mortgage Lenders, which collects house price information from about 50 mortgage lenders for properties that reached completion during the month and for which they provided the mortgage.

Housing

Mary Scanlon (Highlands and Islands) (Con): To ask the Scottish Executive, with reference to page 24 of Planning Advice Note 74: Affordable Housing , what level of income is considered to be "modest".

Malcolm Chisholm: The Scottish Executive does not define what constitutes a "modest" income at a national level, as this varies across regions, cities, towns, villages and wider rural areas. The Scottish Executive offers a broad definition of affordable housing as "housing of a reasonable quality which is available to people on modest incomes", in recognition of the fact that average incomes and housing costs vary widely across Scotland. It is for each local authority to establish the requirement for affordable housing need within their area through their local housing strategy.

Influenza

Mr Stewart Maxwell (West of Scotland) (SNP): To ask the Scottish Executive what the uptake rate of the influenza vaccination has been in people over 65 in each of the last five years, broken down by NHS board area and expressed as a percentage of the over-65 population in each board area.

Mr Andy Kerr: The information requested is given in the table Flu Vaccination Uptake for the period 2000-05. A copy of the table has been placed in the Scottish Parliament Information Centre (Bib. number 37783).

  In order to increase the uptake of the annual flu vaccination in those aged 65 and over, their carers and those in "at risk" group under 65, the Scottish Executive undertakes a number of measures including a national publicity campaign which includes a dedicated website at www.infoscotland.com/flu and patient leaflets, organising the central information letter sent to all those aged 65 and over and specific guidance for health professionals.

Law

Linda Fabiani (Central Scotland) (SNP): To ask the Scottish Executive, further to the answer to question S2W-15683 by Cathy Jamieson on 27 April 2005, when it expects to make an announcement in respect of discussions and agreement with the Scottish Law Commission on timescales for review of the law on limitation.

Hugh Henry: Following extensive discussions, the Scottish Law Commission (SLC) has agreed to review and report to ministers on the law of prescription in relation to personal injury claims. The SLC will conduct that review in parallel with its existing review of limitation, and the intention is that the discussion paper and final report to be produced by that review will now cover both subjects.

  The SLC had been aiming to publish a discussion paper on limitation by the end of this year for public consultation, and to report to ministers with recommendations by the end of 2006. In view of the extra work that will be required to carry out the additional review there may need to be some adjustment to that timescale, although the SLC has said that it will do all it can to minimise any delay. I am continuing to keep in touch with the SLC on this point.

Planning

Mary Scanlon (Highlands and Islands) (Con): To ask the Scottish Executive what action is being taken to ensure an adequate number of training planners in order to (a) meet the requirements of forthcoming planning legislation and (b) ensure a sufficient number of new entrants to the profession to replace those due to retire in the next five to 10 years.

Malcolm Chisholm: (a) Planning Development Budget, established after the 2004 Spending Review, aims to address training needs and skills gaps of local authority planners. This significant investment (£2.25 million over three years) will play an important role in helping local authorities to deliver a more effective and responsive planning system.

  (b) The Executive has commissioned research which aims to assess the adequacy of both staff and financial resources in local authority planning departments. The research will also investigate issues surrounding the supply of planners from Scottish universities.

Pre-School Education

Miss Annabel Goldie (West of Scotland) (Con): To ask the Scottish Executive what consultation process authorities must follow when planning to close a local authority nursery or nursery class within a primary school and what legislation governs this.

Peter Peacock: The consultation process which authorities must follow when proposing the closure of a school, including a nursery school or all the nursery classes within a school, is set out in the Education (Publication and Consultation Etc) (Scotland) Regulations 1981. The regulations require consultation with parents of pupils and with School boards affected by the proposal.

Renewable Energy

Richard Lochhead (North East Scotland) (SNP): To ask the Scottish Executive how much electricity was generated in Scotland in each year from 2000 to 2003 and, of this, how much was generated by (a) hydro, (b) wind, wave or solar and (c) other renewable sources, as referred to in Indicators of Sustainable Development for Scotland: Progress Report 2005 .

Nicol Stephen: Statistics on electricity generation are collected by the UK Government’s Department of Trade and Industry. Generation figures, rounded to the nearest whole gigawatt hour (GWh), are detailed in the table below:

  

 
 2000
 2001
 2002
 2003


 Total Generation
 50,410
 49,095
 49,623
 49,492


 Hydro
 4665
 3738
 4458
 2984


 Wind, Wave, Solar
 217
 245
 406
 460


 Other Renewables
 90
 220
 237
 374



  The data are supplied to the Department of Trade and Industry (DTI) by the electricity generating companies including autogenerators (those companies that consume the electricity that they themselves generate). Hydro pumped storage schemes are not included as renewable sources of electricity because it is non-renewable energy that is used to pump the water. Fluctuations in hydro output reflect in particular, the amount and distribution of rainfall and snow in Scotland across individual years. The amount of electricity generated is the total amount before taking account of any transmission losses or own use of electricity by the electricity generators.

Waste Management

Bruce Crawford (Mid Scotland and Fife) (SNP): To ask the Scottish Executive what advice or guidance it has provided to the Scottish Environment Protection Agency on the disposal of human-derived sewage sludge.

Ross Finnie: None. It is an operational matter for the Scottish Environment Protection Agency to conduct its regulatory function in relation to the recovery or disposal of sewage sludge and other waste in terms of the applicable legislation. This includes the Waste Management Licensing Regulations 1994, the Sludge (Use in Agriculture) Regulations 1989, the Waste Incineration (Scotland) Regulations 2003 and the Landfill (Scotland) Regulations 2003, as amended where appropriate, depending on the disposal option in question.

Waste Management

Bruce Crawford (Mid Scotland and Fife) (SNP): To ask the Scottish Executive what advice or guidance it has provided to Scottish Water on the disposal of human-derived sewage sludge.

Ross Finnie: It is the duty of Scottish Water to recover or dispose of the human derived sewage sludge arising from its treatment processes in accordance with the provisions of the Waste Management Licensing Regulations 1994, the Sludge (Use in Agriculture) Regulations 1989, the Waste Incineration (Scotland) Regulations 2003 and the Landfill (Scotland) Regulations 2003, as amended where appropriate, depending on the disposal option in question.

Waste Management

Bruce Crawford (Mid Scotland and Fife) (SNP): To ask the Scottish Executive what discussions it has had with the Scottish Environment Protection Agency or Scottish Water regarding the disposal of human-derived sewage sludge and what the purpose was of these discussions.

Ross Finnie: The Scottish Executive is in frequent contact with the Scottish Environment Protection Agency and Scottish Water about a wide range of matters related to those bodies’ responsibilities, of which the disposal of sewage sludge is one.

Correction

The reply to question S2W-14031, which was originally answered on 28 February 2005, has been corrected: see page 6165 or http://www.scottish.parliament.uk/business/pqa/wa-05/wa1025.htm.

  

Following are statistics on parliamentary questions and answers for the period from 01/07/2004 to 31/07/2004



  

 
 Scottish Executive
 Scottish Parliamentary Corporate Body
 Total


 Total questions asked
 317
 17
 334


 Total questions answered
 431
 14
 445



  

 Total non-recess questions answered (breakdown)


 Answered within:
 Scottish Executive
 Scottish Parliamentary Corporate Body


 0-10 days
 20
 0


 11-20 days
 43
 0


 21-30 days
 3
 0


 31-40 days
 7
 0


 40+ days
 13
 0


 Total answered
 86
 0



  

 Total recess questions answered (breakdown)


 Answered within:
 Scottish Executive
 Scottish Parliamentary Corporate Body


 0-20 days
 284
 14


 21-30 days
 59
 0


 31-40 days
 0
 0


 40+ days
 2
 0


 Total answered
 345
 14